Ireland's Damien McGrane is tied for ninth position after shooting a 1-under-par 70 in the penultimate round of the European Tour's qualifying school in Spain today.

But the news is not so favourable for the other Irish competitor, Philip Walton, who probably needs a 64 or 65 in the final round to avoid a fifth successive failure at the school.

Having survived the 72-hole cut with nothing to spare, the 41-year-old added a 68 but moved up only from 71st to 62nd.

"The scoring is unreal," Walton said. "I'm nine under and I'm not even at the races. Some other former tour winners face a nervous last day too," he added.

Only the leading 35 and ties will be awarded cards tomorrow night.

Filed by James Boylan